Cat's Abdomen Is Getting Bloated?

I have a presumably 6 month old male kitten (but he looks bigger than other 6 month old kittens I saw). When I got him he was 7.1 pounds (about 3 wks ago). I've been feeding him two 3 oz cans of wet kitten food (daily with a little dry food mixed in although he doesn't like dried food much. Now he weighs 7.2 pounds but his abdomen has gotten noticeably larger even though he isn't much heavier. Is there something wrong? I will upload pics soon.

Where did you get him? Has he been checked out by a vet? Is he still eating/playing/litterboxing normally?

I got him at an adoption center. I took him to the vet 1 week after getting him and everything was fine except she thought he was 8 months old because of his size. He is eating normally and excreting normally but he isn't playing as much (I just figured that was because he was getting past the age they have the most energy). Or maybe he got lazy because my sister carries him everywhere.

Make a vet appointment. Sometimes kittens have internal parasites, which could explain the bloating. Your vet can do a fecal test to determine if he has any.

Ok I will take him to the vet. Do you need a picture?

I don't think a picture would hurt!

Such a handsome boy! Keep us updated with what the vet says.

For what it's worth, I took Dexter to the vet because he was bloated too...I paid $200 for the vet to tell me he was fat...

Thanks. I don't think he got fat because he didn't gain weight. My parents don't want to take him to the vet yet because we just took him a few weeks ago. They want to observe for longer.

If you notice any behavior changes or if he stops eating, try to get him in sooner

I will keep watching, I always feed him and clean his litter box so it's easier to see. Actually yesterday he peed on a beanbag chair and my mom made me wash him. And his poops look a little smaller than usual.

MojoTuxedo said:

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MojoTuxedo said:

Thanks. I don't think he got fat because he didn't gain weight. My parents don't want to take him to the vet yet because we just took him a few weeks ago. They want to observe for longer.

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Were his sides puffy or bloated like that two weeks ago, when you saw the vet?

PushPurrCatPaws said:

Were his sides puffy or bloated like that two weeks ago, when you saw the vet?

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No. They were normal.

Maybe you could convince your parents that having his sides/ stomach get so large in that short of time might need looked at by the vet. It could be any number of things. You could also email the photo to your vet's office, describe your concerns, and see what they say. If they say, it might be best to bring him in to make sure all is okay or not okay, you could relay that to your parents...

Ok I will ask them.

The bloating seems to have gotten a little bit smaller. My parents won't take him to the vet yet. I told them it could be a parasite and they said there is nowhere in our house that he could have gotten a parasite.

MojoTuxedo said:

The bloating seems to have gotten a little bit smaller. My parents won't take him to the vet yet. I told them it could be a parasite and they said there is nowhere in our house that he could have gotten a parasite.

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A mosquito bite can cause a parasite. Swallowing a flea can cause a parasite (doesn't take more than one flea if that flea carries parasite eggs.) If you got him only 3 weeks ago, it's also possible he came with parasite eggs in his system and they developed in those 3 weeks.

He might also be holding his pee and/or constipated though if you are unsure of his bowel movements.

Most vet clinics are OK with patients calling in to ask questions/to see a picture. Especially if they have recently seen the pet and you say they did. I would send them the picture and ask if it prompts an exam

MojoTuxedo said:

I told them it could be a parasite and they said there is nowhere in our house that he could have gotten a parasite.

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That's not at all how that works.... Many parasites take a long time to shed and be detected in a fecal test so it could be something he has had all along that was undetected. He also, as mentioned above, could get parasites from bugs in the home. There is no way for your parents to know this. PLUS flea eggs and larvae can lay dormant in your home for months before coming alive so saying what they said is just silly.

Since he was just at the vet, call and ask if you can drop off a fecal sample for them to check out. At bare minimum. We charge $33 where I work for those so it shouldn't be THAT expensive to just drop one off.

He has peed outside of his litterbox twice recently but I don't know if that has anything to do with this. My parents are considering it now.

His meow sounds a little hoarse.